Chichester Open Studios Art Trail returns to celebrate its 21st birthday

He is opening once again his studio (Venue 15) in Chilgrove as part of the trail (April 30-May 2 and May 7 and 8; chichesterarttrail.org).

“I didn’t do it last year because of lockdown but I’ve been doing it for 20 years and I just love doing it.

“I’m a bit of a showman and an extrovert and I love chatting to people.

“My daughter is forever saying that it is about trying to sell your work and not making small talk. She tries to focus me but I do just enjoy it. I love talking to people about the technical aspects of my work, and my work really is very technical.“Sculpture is quite a demanding process depending on what scale you are working at but I have become an expert in these techniques.

“I do everything myself from concept to installation to sale and it’s important to me because I like to have that control.

“There are a lot of artists that ship their work off to somebody else to make but that would not sit very comfortably with me. I’m not really in a position to employ somebody to do it anyway but I would rather do it myself because I know that I can do the job I want. You can work yourself into the ground but I do think it’s important to have that overall control.”

Vincent has been a sculptor full time for the past ten years but essentially he has been a sculptor all his life, and he is delighted to be based at Courtyard Studios.

“During the eight years I have been at Courtyard Studios I have seen many creatives come and go.

“These are largely but not exclusively people who sublet from Nicola and Terry Hancock. Now at the studio complex are two very exciting businesses, a florist and a micro-brewery. Whilst they are not part of the gallery trail, they will be open for business and offer outdoor seating demos, tasting and sales.

“This makes for a very exciting and extremely dynamic micro community at Courtyard Studios and one worth shouting about. All this against a backdrop of rolling hills, meandering deer and red kite circling above.

“There is a lot of parking, it’s a lovely rural setting and you can see the changing seasons and you can come and see half a dozen different creative workers. You could come here for a really lovely day out.

“When I first started doing the Gallery Trail it was with Susan Cutts and since then there have been maybe four or five organisers. There have been tweaks and improvements over the years but predominantly it has stayed the same.

“It’s artists who are opening up their doors to their studios and talking about the technical side of what they do and just welcoming people in and hopefully making a sale. It is really great fun. It is about sharing our creative world with other people.

Have you seen The Taxidermist’s Daughter yet? See our review https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/taxidermists-daughter-offers-thrilling-start-to-chichester-festival-theatres-60th-anniversary-3660102